finally done with the layouts!

well, i had to change around my layouts a tiny bit which really sucks once all the routing is done, but no matter because they're all done! team awesome v5

now to get them all printed and fucking hope to jesus or whomever that they line up with the enclosures i'm getting drilled...

no new progress on the PWM, but i did come up with a simple, neat little overdrive that i may make a run of in the future. i have a few more things to add/refine and i'll be done with it.
i feel odd having working with 2 overdrives in such close proximity to each other, though it'll be very different than the fuck overdrive, that's for sure...

time for some new circuit boards!

every 25 pedals or so i need some new boards. it's nice as it allows me the luxury of updating the PCBs without having a ton of them on hand that may have had a small error or mis-label. i really enjoy this part of designing/building...

it's like figuring out a weird puzzle on a few different levels - you have the design of the pedal, the layout of the controls on the pedal, which in my case delineates at least partially the PCB layout, the component layout on the board and the routing associated. i often spend more time than i should on this stage since i try and get the most compact, efficient and aesthetically pleasing layout i can. some people are true artists when it comes to circuit layouts... that's what i'm striving for!

here are my layouts for the fuck overdrive and the newer year4545. i just started working on another tafm layout, which should be done by the weekend.

PWM fuzz cont. 2

if at first you don't succeed, try again.

the first layout (left) was, in theory, a good idea. certain aspects of it were nice, but overall the routing that was left would have been atrocious. the second layout, while not as aesthetically pleasing to my eye, works a bit better... though i still had to do some creative layout tricks.

the fuzz part of the layout is a piece of cake, but the modulation portion is a huge bitch... i probably spent more time on it than i should have, but i really want to keep the modulation and the audio sections as separate as possible - there was no audible ticking or noise on the breadboard except for when all controls were maxed out - even then it was usable noise... ;-)

thankfully now that the one is more-or-less done, the rest will be a lot easier. goddamn it's fucking freezing in the shop, though. it certainly doesn't help things...

the rest of my day.

PWM fuzz cont.

here's a short clip of the PWM fuzz in action. still thinking of a name for it...

PWM fuzz with random modulation

sweet. i've got this bad boy up and running the way i wanted it to sound.

*it goes from huge synth fuzz to thin nasal mosquito buzz with some nice reedy shades in-between.

*the modulation is pseudo random and has a solid range from super slow to crackle-y fast. there is also a CV input which disables the random source so you can use a periodic LFO or other source. i tested it with a 9v, 5v and bipolar 9v source. the 5v had the largest range with the depth pot, though the 9v worked ok too. the bipolar source worked, but the range was much smaller and as the circuit isn't designed to work with one, i would recommend against using it. your mileage may vary with the CV in, but most sources should work fine...

*i decided to also add a "chop" switch which makes the depth either really choppy and stark (almost tremolo) to smoother (though i disliked a very smooth setting and decided to omit one for simplicity).

*tons of output on this beast.

overall the random source is really interesting. there are lots of broken sounds here as well as some subtle movement - though single notes work fine, i think the circuit really shines on legato playing, after reverb or another modulation effect (phaser) or more sustained, notes. guitar and synth clips to follow later.

this week

lots and lots happening this week...
ideas ideas and things to do

*there will be a new version of the year4545 coming in the next few weeks - similar controls but with some neat additions and in a larger footprint for a little bit more cash money... the transistors necessary in the pedal are type and even brand specific and within that narrow window do not always work well together - all this means that it's pretty time-consuming for me to churn out these pedals, so i need to take care of myself!

*there will be a super rad unnamed overdrive (tentatively named the fuck overdrive) coming in the next few weeks as well! it sounds like a nice full-range dynamic overdrive with the ability to go into fuzz territory and a unique function which basically makes the pedal sound like your amp is breaking... in a good way. and that control will have a momentary switch, too!

*i'm trying really hard to get the next batches of pedals screenprinted, so hopefully there will be some nice new artwork available as well as a batch of super special hand-drawn/painted finishes.

*i'm building a very short run (5) of PWM fuzzes with pseudo-random modulation of the pulsewidth. it's based on a nice little circuit snippet by a wonderful gent named tim escobedo - he's got a lot of great circuits on the web. i'm doing my own thing with it, so it will be significantly different in the end. these are going to be 4-knobbers, with a possible CV in jack (not 100% yet) and will be $150. 4 are already spoken for, but you never know! also, if i get more requests, i'll do a 2nd run... see thread for more info:
http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=178&t=13351

*continuing work on the vibrato/MBV/boards of canada-izer, but it's slow right now. too many other things to think about and this one circuit is going to take a bit more time.

i'll be more active here from now on. i promise.

a few links for your pleasure

in lieu of my website (which should be up soon!) i figured i should add a few quick links here.

http://www.youtube.com/smallsoundbigsound - check out a handful of demo videos i've done...
http://www.fuzzhugger.com/smallsoundbigsound.html - to purchase my pedals
find me on facebook under smallsound/bigsound effects, too!

i've got two production pedals available, which are:
team awesome! fuzzmachine, a HUGE germanium bass fuzz with a clean blend. $175
year4545, a gnarly lofi psych fuzz/filter pedal that's hard to explain. $150

feel free to email me and order DIRECT - brian@smallsoundbigsound.com for custom finishes, dual pedals or anything you can think of.